Sewing machine



Aug. 25, 1931. E. J. RAY

SEWING MACHINE Filed April 19. 1929 Patented Aug. 25, 1931 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE EUGENE J'. BAY, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE SINGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY. OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY SEWING MACHINE Application filed "April 19,

The present invention relates to attachments for sewing machines designed to enable the machine to perform at one operation the stitching together of two or more layers of material while one or more thereof is simultaneously trimmed in parallel relation with the seambeing formed, such trimming being effected by a knife reciprocating in a line substantially parallel with the direction of the feed, such as is shown in U. S. Letters Patent to L. L. Barber No. 156,267 issued on October 27, 1874, and reissued August 28, 1877, No. 7,860.

The invention is particularly intended to be used in trimming the linings of certain kinds of boot or shoe uppers to match the margins of the outer portions of the uppers after such margins have'becn finished as by skiving, burnishing,.o1"especially by burning vthe edge to make it curl back upon itself to formafinishcd edge.

The present invention has as its particular object to enable the reciprocating knife to trim the desired layer or layers of the superposed thicknesses of material to be sewed, without danger of injuring the finished edge of the upper by contact with the knife.

To this end the device includes an edge' gage which has a separator blade or lip adapted to separate the lining from the outer portion of the upper throughout substantially the distance covered by the stroke of the knife, so that such outer portion of the upper will be maintained at a level above that of the knife and entirely out of range thereof.

In connection with this object, the inven tion also contemplates the use of an auxil-' iary presser-foot, disposed between the usual disc presser-foot and the edge gage to hold the material down in engagement with the edge gage and to cooperate with the said separator blade or lip to hold the material adjacent the edge of the u per in flat relation as it is fed along in'contact with the edge gage, so that the pressure applied by the operator in holding the edge of the upperup to the edge, gage willn'ot cause buckling andcrowding of the material of the upper in its extent between the edge gage and the necessary ottset position of the disc type of 1929. Serial No. 356,476.

presser-t'oot which must be used to permit abrupt turning of the work beneath the needlein this class of work. Thus the auxiliary prcsscr-foot, in cooperating with the lip to prevent escape of the upper from the edge gage and its injurious contact with the knife, also serves to prevent deviations of the line of stitches out of parallel with the edge of the upper, as a result of crowding.

Another object of the invention is to provide forthe passage of thickened ortions of the outer-portion of the upper, suc 1 as seams, etc., and scams and bunches on the lining, beneath the main and auxiliary presser-feet without causing the feed to be interrupted or permitting the work to escape from the control of the edge gage as a result of the lifting of the presser feet by such thickened portions.

To this end the edge gage and the auxiliar resser-foot are independently mounted wit capacity for relative vertical movement with respect to each other and to the main disc presser-foot. v

The invention maybe readily understood upon reference to the accompan ing drawings showing the device in its pre erred form and to the following detailed description of the construction therein shown. I

Having reference to the drawings, Fig. 1

cated at 2 carrying the needle 3. The work is supported during the operation of the machine upon a workplate 4 and fed by the customary feed 5. being held in firm contact therewith by a disc Presser-foot 6 of common type, pivotally mounted on a swinging arm 7 pivoted to the bracket 8 on the presserbar 9, which latter is pressed yieldingly down against the work by springs in the usual manner.

In accordance with the invention, upon the presser-bar 9 is mounted, as by a bolt 10, a bracket 11 which carries an edge gage 12 and an auxiliary presser-foot 13, the latter being interposed between and occupying approximately the entire "space between the disc Presser-foot 6 and the proximate face of the edge gage 12. The edge gage 12 has a shank 14 which is received within a vertical socket 15 in the bracket 11, a spring 19 being confined between the end of said socket and the end of the shank 14 to press-the edge gage yieldingly downward. To hold the shank 14 from rotation in its socket, a portion of one side of the shank is slabbed off to form a rectangular notch 16 extending across at right angles to the axis of the shank, to receive a flat key 17 which is fitted into a slot 18 formed horizontally across the side of the bracket 11 so as to intersect the socket 15 formed'therein. A screw 171 holds the key in place. The rectangular notch 16 in the shank is of slightly greater width than that of the key 17, so that a certain amount of up-and-down movement is permitted the edge gage 12 relative to its bracket 11, while still permitting the edge gageto be lifted clear of the work when the presser-bar 9 is raised.

The auxiliary presser-fo0t 13 is pivotally mounted in the vertical slot 130 in the bracket 11 upon a screw 20 put through the rear portion of thebracket, and is pressed downwardly to hold down the work by a spring 21 occupying a recess 22 in the body of the bracket 11 and confined between the end. of such recess and the top surface of the presserfoot 13 intermediate the length of the latter. A shoulder 23 at the rear extremityof the presser-foot 13 engages with the wall of the slot 180, to limit its motion about its pivot under the influence of spring 21 so that when the presser-bar 9 is raised the auxiliary presser-foot will be lifted clear of the work. The auxiliary presser-foot 13 is cut away as indicated at 24, to provide for the working of the needle 3. As shown in Fig 3, the auxiliary presser-foot occupies substantially the entire space between the edge gage and the disc Presser-foot except the space reserved for the passage of the needle.

The work, comprising the outer material 25 of the upper and its lining 26, is inserted as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the finished edge of the material 25 against the edge'gage 12. Upon the bottom of the edge gage is a thin lip 27 extendingforwardlyas well as laterally under the auxiliary presser-foot 13,

so as to overlie the cutting edge 28 of the b011- zontal reciprocating knife 29 and extend a substantial distance in front thereof as well as in a direction .away from the edge of the outer material 25 as the position of the latter is determined by the edge gage 12. The knife 29 isof usual construction, as disclosed in the patent to Barber above referred to, and comprises a thin blade or shank portion 29 arranged to vibrate in a horizontal plane and a portion extending vertically downwardly at right angles to the shank, provided with the cuttin edge 28 which, during the vibration of the knife, moves back and forth in the line of feed. The lip 27 acts as a separator blade which enters between the outer material 25 and the lining 26, supporting the outer material 25 along its marginal portion and shielding its edge entirely from contact with the knife as the latter reciprocates and trims the lining 26.

By reason of the novel arrangement of the parts, the marginal portion of the outer 1115b terial 25 is confined as to its upper surface by i the disc presser-foot 6 and the auxiliary presser-foot 13, is limited in its lateral movement by the vertical surface of the edge gage 12, and is supported at its under surface by the lip 27 and the adjacent portions of the lining 26 which in turn rests upon the work plate 4. Thus, no opportunity is given the outer material for buckling in the event that it is pressed too hard against the edge gage by the operator as he feeds the material through the machine. When a seam in the outer material or the lining or a bunch in the'latter is presented beneath the presser feet, by reason of the relatively movable reby such seam or bunch will not raise the disc will the lifting of either resser-foot in this lation of the disc presser-foot 6 and the auxi iliary presser-foot 13, the lifting of the latter manner disturb the engagement of the edge 5 of the outer portion 25 by the edge gage 12, as the latter is relatively movable and spring pressed downwardly with respectto the presser-feet. Further, upward movement of the knife 29 caused by engagement with seams or bunchesjor other resistant portions of the lining being trimmed by it may raise the edge gage 12 and the auxiliary presser-foot 13 without afi'ecting the disc presser foot 6 so as to stop the feed; while, owing to the extent of overlappingof the edge of the outer portion 25 over the-lip 27 the outer portion will be carried upwardly to maintain its intended relation above the level of the knife 29 so as not to comein contact therewith even when the knife rises.

When the knife is swung rear-wardly by the operator to suspend its action and omit the trimming at certain points along the margin of the upper, both the edge-gage and the lip remain in operative position and continue to combination of the parts described the edgcllfi gage, lip, and auxiliary presser-foot cooperate to brace the edge of the outer portion of the upper at all times regardless of the position of the knife, as they remain in constant relation to each other and to the point where the needle strikes the work, save for the incidental up-and-down movement caused by local irregularities in the thickness of the work. Thus the devices are especially adapted for use in connection with uppers of which the outer portions have the relatively soft and yielding edges consisting of a single layer finished by burnishing or burning, as described; also, they are equally of use whether the lining is to be trimmed flush, or undercut.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a mechanism embodying the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitch-forming means, a disc presserfoot, an edge-gage, a knife comprising a thin blade vibrating in substantially the plane of the work and provided with a cutting edge at right angles to the blade acting below the edge-gage to trim one ply of a plurality comprising the work being sewed, a lip upon the edge-gage supporting the ply not being trimmed, and an auxiliary presser-foot holding down the work between the disc presserfoot and the edge-gage.

2. A sewing machine having, in combination. stitch-forming means, an edge-gage. a knife comprising a thin blade vibrating in substantially the plane of the work and provided with a cutting edge at right angles to the blade acting to trim aflayer of the work, and a lip upon the edge-gage supporting a layer of the work above the level of the knife.

3. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitch-forming means including a needle, and means for supporting the edge-portion of a layer of the work being sewed comprising afiat presser-foot engaging the top surface of said layer from its edge inwardly beyond the point of impact of the needle therewith, an edge-gage engaging the edge of said layer, a lip upon said edge-gage engaging the bottom surface of said layer from edge inwardly beyond the line of impact of the needle therewith and a knife comprising a thin blade vibrating in substantially the plane of the work and provided with a cutting edge at right angles to the blade acting below the edge gage to trim one layer of a plurality comprising the work being sewed.

4. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming means including a needle, a knife comprising a thin blade vibrating in substantially the plane of thework and provided with a cutting edge at right angles to the blade acting to trim a layer of the material to be sewed, and means for supporting the edge-portion of a layer above that being trimmed comprising an edge-gage, a .lip in connection therewith to engage the under the lip.

5. A sewing machine having, in combination, stitclrforming means, a disc presserfoot, an edge gage yieldingly mounted to move independently of the disc -presser-foot in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the work, an auxiliary presser-foot adapted to hold down the work between the disc presser-foot and the edge gage, yieldingly mounted to move independently of the disc presser-foot and of the edge gage in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the work, a lip upon the edge gage to extend between the layers of a plurality of layers comprising the work. and atrinnuing knife acting below the edge gage to trim one layer of the work.

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EUGENE J. RAY. 

